Discussion: What do you think this image means?

What is an ecological footprint?

Ecological Footprints are… a measure of human impact on the Earth. The footprint equals the Earth’s cost to sustain one person. It’s measured in hectares and represents the land area needed to provide resources and absorb waste and greenhouse gases produced by an individual.

What is an ecological footprint?

What are the numbers? World Average – 2.2 hectares Biggest Footprint – United States – 9.6 hectares Smallest Footprint – Bangladesh – 0.5 hectares Average Canadian Footprint – 8.6 hectares Canada has the 3rd highest footprint in the world! Why is Canada’s average footprint so big?

What do we “need”? We require … hectares of land for water (to drink & provide seafood) 0.4 hectares of land for home and roads and factories that make the material things we grave 1.6 hectares of land for farmland to grow the food we eat 0.3 hectares of land for grazing land for meat and dairy 1.4 hectares of land for timber wood and paper products 4.7 hectares of land and needed to absorb the greenhouse gases produced by driving around town, through the running of air conditioners and the import of exotic goods and foods = 8.6 hectares

Ecological Impact of Nations The map on the following slide shows various countries and regions of the world proportionate to their production and consumption of commercially traded fuels. All figures are in million metric tons of oil equivalent.

Ecological Impact of Nations

How Much Land do we Have?

Defining Environment & Sustainability Stewardship refers to the responsibility we all have to the environment and resources that has been left to us by our ancestors. We are all stewards to our planet. Sustainability refers to the ability to develop in order to meet the needs of the present without negatively affecting the ability of future generations to meet their needs

Activity: Calculate Your Ecological Footprint